Jets Add to a Strength, Taking Leonard Williams, a Defender Surprisingly Still Available

Leonard Williams, a defensive end from U.S.C., with Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected sixth over all by the Jets.Credit
Joshua Lott for The New York Times

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Less than an hour into his first draft as general manager, Mike Maccagnan was presented with a situation that would test one of his guiding principles.

The Jets’ defensive line is one of the best in the N.F.L., but when it was the Jets’ turn to pick in the first round Thursday night, a defensive end, Leonard Williams from Southern California, was the highest-rated remaining player on their draft board.

Maccagnan said he had prepared for the unexpected. But of all the potential situations he had envisioned, few, if any, resulted in Williams’s being available at No. 6.

“Obviously,” Maccagnan said, “we’re very, very excited.”

In time, Coach Todd Bowles will determine how Williams fits into the team’s 3-4 scheme on a defensive line that includes Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison. Bowles loves to blitz, but with the pass rush the Jets might be able to generate up front now, he might not have to.

In 39 games at Southern California, Williams, listed at 6 feet 5 inches and 300 pounds, had 21 sacks and 36 ½ tackles for loss, cultivating a reputation as one of the nation’s most versatile — and feared — defensive linemen. What appealed most to the Jets was Williams’s rare combination of agility and explosiveness for his size, his potential to excel as both a run stuffer and a pass rusher. They were stunned that he dropped to them.

“I just want to prove — not really prove other teams wrong, but really prove the Jets right,” said Williams, who turns 20 next month. “I really want them to be proud of their decision.”

The Jets attended his pro day and hosted Williams at their complex, where, Bowles said, his passion and maturity impressed the staff. Williams is as alluring a personality off the field as he is dominating on it. He rode around the U.S.C. campus on a skateboard, used to play rugby and has a deep interest in art.

The Jets had not entered a draft with a pick as high as No. 6 since 2008, when they selected Vernon Gholston, one of the biggest flops in franchise history. Maccagnan said that the Jets had discussed trade possibilities with the other 31 teams and that he had checked with the five ahead of them to gauge the cost — ludicrously exorbitant, or merely exorbitant — of moving up.

Photo

Williams, right, playing for the Trojans against Arizona in 2013.Credit
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Maccagnan intimated last week that he would be more inclined to trade down, and as the draft unfolded, it seemed as if the Jets would be in position to compile more picks.

They coveted Dante Fowler Jr., an outside linebacker from Florida, but Jacksonville took him at No. 3. After Amari Cooper, considered the draft’s best receiver, went fourth to Oakland, Maccagnan knew that only Washington could block him from grabbing Williams, and he thought the Redskins would do it.

Watching it all happen from the draft in Chicago, Williams said he figured the Jets would draft an offensive player — perhaps Kevin White, a receiver from West Virginia — because, he said, the team was already so strong on defense. The Redskins made what could be perceived as a surprising pick, choosing Iowa offensive tackle Brandon Scherff, and Maccagnan knew Williams was his.

The Jets used the full 10 minutes allotted before turning in their pick, just to see if any worthy trade options revealed themselves, but none did. Maccagnan had emphasized to his staff the importance of evaluating players without regard to need, and he said he was not tempted to divert from his strategy and pick someone else. The Jets’ last seven first-round picks have been defensive players.

“To me, you can never have enough good players,” Maccagnan said. “Especially on the defensive line.”

The Jets do have a surplus, and though it is likely to stay that way, Williams’s arrival should intensify trade interest in Wilkerson, who has not been attending voluntary workouts in protest of his contract status. He is signed through this season at $6.96 million, but has outplayed his rookie deal and is seeking a more lucrative long-term pact.

Maccagnan, when asked, said the Jets are not “actively shopping” Wilkerson, neutral language that suggests the Jets might listen if they received an appealing offer. But Maccagnan has said that he is hopeful they can reach an agreement after the draft, and he and Bowles added that they intended to contact Wilkerson and assure him that, for now at least, they consider him a valuable part of the team.

“Of course we want him,” Bowles said.

The Jets hold five picks over the next two days, including the fifth selection in the second round, No. 37 over all, at which point they might choose to improve at outside linebacker, offensive line, running back or quarterback.

Or, as Thursday night showed, a different position altogether.

A version of this article appears in print on May 1, 2015, on Page B11 of the New York edition with the headline: Jets Add to Strength, Selecting a Defender Surprisingly Still Available . Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe